Tool for straining a wire and fastening the wire ends by twisting



Juhe 19, 1934. H. BRUNINGHAUS TOOL FOR STRAINING A WIRE AND FASTENING THE WIRE ENDS BY 'TWISTING Filed Nov. 1933 .liwezziaz: .7 5 I Patented June 19, 1934 PATENT OFFICE 'TOOL FOR STRAINING A-WIRE AND FAS- TENING THE WIRE ENDS BY TWISTING Hugo Briininghaus, Wuppertal-Barmen, Germany Application November 1, 1933, Serial No. 696,259

In Germany June 2'1, 1932 I 8 Claims. (crime-9s) Y The present invention relates to tools for straining and twisting wires, for instance for straining a wire hoop placed upon a package, box or bale and twisting the overlapping wire i ends for the purpose of closing the hoop, more particularly tools of the type employing a rotatable nut and two longitudinally movable wire straining members having threaded engagement with the nut.

In known tools of this type, a manually operated lever serving for turning the nut, anda gear serving for driving the twisting device, are mounted in a separate bearing arranged at the side of a hollow shaft constituting the nut. It"

is believed that this arrangement renders the construction of the tool expensive and complicated.

According to the invention this and other drawbacks of the known'tools are obviated by the fact that the hollow shaft which constitutes the nut' and is rotatably mounted at both ends,

carries upon the part located between the bearings, not only its own operating lever, but also the driving gear of the twisting device and a lever serving for operating said driving gear. By this arrangement a tool is provided which, as compared with the known tools of this type, has

the advantage of an extremely compact, solid and durable construction, considerably increased ease of manipulation, and is moreover easier and cheaper to manufacture.

The accompanying drawing shows by way of example one construction of the improved tool:

Fig. 1 shows in elevation and partly in section the improved tool with the nut operating lever thereby closing the hoop, and finally cutting oil? the free wire ends which project at both sides of the twisted joint. The individual tools serving for performing these three operations, namely, 5 straining, twisting and cutting, are all mounted upon a flat base plate 1 which is provided with a central forwardly projecting portion 1 and carries on both sides of said projection bearings 2, 2 ior the reception of a hollow shaft 3 extending parallel to the front edge of the base plate. The

screwed into the straining member.

forwardly projecting portion of the pin 17 is 110 straining device comprises two straining members 4, 4 which are slidably mounted in the base plate 1 by means of base plates 5 engaging grooves 6 of the main base plate. Each of the straining members 4, 4 is provided with a thread- 00 ed spindle 'I engaging the internal thread of the hollow shaft 3 constituting the nut. The threads of the two spindles 7 are oppositely directed, that is to say, one is left handed and the other right handed, and the co-operating threads of the nut 3 are arranged to correspond with the external. threads so .that by rotation of the nut in one direction the members 4, 4 are moved towards each other and by rotation in the opposite direction are moved away from each other. The hollow shaft 3 constituting the nut has, in the construction shown, no continuous internal thread, but merely internalprojections 8, 8 at the two ends, said projections engaging external threads .of the spindle 7. It will be understood that upon 76 rotation of the hollow shaft 3 constituting the nut, the straining members 4 are moved longitudinally owing to the fact that they are prevented from rotating by the engagement of their bases 5 with the main base 1.- The hollow shaft 80' constituting the nut is operated by means of a hand lever 9 which is mounted upon the shaft 3 by means of a hub 10 and is fixed to the shaft and secured against rotation thereon by means 'of a setscrew 11. The hub 10-of the lever 9 acts in conjunction with the bearing 2 as a means for preventing axial movement of the shaft 3 towards the left, whilst axial movement towards the right is prevented by a collar 12 fixedly mounted upon the shaft by means of a setscrew 13. It will thus be seen that the shaft is held against axial movement in either direction. The two straining members 4, 4 are provided upon their front sides with automatically acting clamping means for the wire ends. In the left 06 hand straining member 4, the clamping means comprises a small metal cam disc 14 rotatably mounted in a horizontal slot 15 of the straining member. The cam disc is provided upon its operating surface with teeth 14 in order to! The right hand straining member 4 is provided 106 with a spring operated clamping device.- This clamping device comprises a clamping lever 16 rotatably mounted upon a horizontal pin 17 Upon the mounted 'a helical spring 18 fixed at one end to the pin and acting with its other end upon the lever and tending to move the lever into the clamping position. The clamping lever 16 is provided at its lower end with a forwardly projecting clamping 'arm 16' which is normally depressed by the spring 18 into contact with a stationary clamping jaw 19. The clamping surface of the two clamping members is preferably plane. lever 16 against the action of the spring 18 for c the purpose of releasing or opening the jaws,

the upper part 16" of the lever 16 is formed as a handgrip. The wire end to be clamped is inserted by turning the arm 16' upwards by means of the grip 16" and then releasing the grip, whereupon clamping takes place under the action of the spring 18. Rotation of the clamping lever 16 is limited by a stop pin 20. I y

The initial position of the straining members -4 is shown in full lines "in Fig. 1, the hand operating lever 9 being then in a vertical position, that is, at right angles to the base plate 1. After the two ends of the wire placed around the package to be fastened, have been insertedinto the clamping devices of the two straining membets 4, 4 in such a manner that the wire ends to be fastened together lie side by side, the wire end coming from the right side being for this purpose inserted into the left hand straining member and the wire coming from the left side being inserted into the right hand straining memher, the hand operating lever 9 is moved backwards into the position shown in Fig. 2. By this movement the nut 3 is turned and the straining members 4, 4 are moved into the positions indicated in Fig. 1 by chain dotted lines, and in Fig."

' ous parts of this device are mounted upon the middle portion of the hollow shaft 3 constituting the nut. It will be seen that the free space left between the hub 10 of the hand operating lever 9 and the stop collar' l2 is utilized for mounting 'tw'o sleeves 21 and 22 freely rotatable upon the shaft 3. Upon the sleeve 21 are fixedly mounted a toothed gear 23 and two locking discs 24-, 25, said locking discs having each two locking teeth arranged diametrically'opposite each other. The sleeve 22. is provided at the end adjacent the disc 24 with an operating hand lever 26. The hand lever 26 is provided with a horizontally extending grip 27 and carries at a point near the 4 shaft 3 a cross member 23 which is so dimensioned and'arranged as to limit the rotation of the lever 26 about the shaft 3 to an angle of exactly 180, said arm acting in conjunction with the base plate 1 as a stop. The lever 26 is formed with two lugs 29, 29, preferably stamped out of the middle portion of the lever- In the lugs 29, 29 is slidably mounted a locking bolt 30. A helical spring 31 mounted upon the locking bolt 30 and pressing at one end against a lug 29 and at the other end upon a. collar 30' fixed upon the locking bolt, has the tendency to move the locking bolt 30 into ngagement with the locking disc 24.

To facilitate manual operation of the- The lever 26 with its sliding bolt 30 and the looking disc 24 co-operating therewith constitute a ratchet gear by means of which on turning the lever 26 in the direction of the arrow .1: in Fig. 3, thesleeve 21 andconsequently-also the toothed gear 23 are driven in one direction, whilst upon return of the lever 26 the toothed gear23 remains stationary. The second locking disc 25 serves for preventing backward rotation of the toothed gear 23 during the return movement of the ratchet lever 26, and co-operates for this purpose with a vertical flat spring 32 mounted upon the base plate 1 and provided with a locking projection 33 adapted to engage the locking disc 25. When the sleeve 25 has beenturned through an angle of 180 by the ratchet lever 26 the spring 32 engages with its projection 33 the locking projection of the locking disc 25 and holds the sleeve 21 and the toothed gear 23 against back- -manner with two stub axles mounted in a sta tionary bearing 35 fixed to the base plate 1 above a recess in said base plate. The pinion 34 and the stub axles carried thereby are formed inknown manner with a radial slot 36 extending almost to the centre. The ratio .of transmission of the toothed gear 23 and the pinion 34 is so chosen that when the ratchet lever 26 assumes either of its two end positions,-the slot 36 is forwardly directed as shown in Fig. 1. 4

The operation of the wire twisting device is as follows:

On inserting the two wire ends into the clamp"- ing devices of the straining members, the two wires are placed side by side into the slot 36 of the pinion 34. After the wire ends havebeen strained-in the above-described manner by the rotation'of the nut 3, the ratchet lever 26 is moved from its rearwardposition through an angle of 180 into its forward position, and the pinion 34 is positively rotated so as to twist the wire portions on both sides of the slot 36 firmly together. The-ratchet lever 26 is then turned back into its initial position, the sleeve 21, the gear 23 and pinion34 remaining stationary and the locking bolt 30 sliding upon the lockingdisc 24 until upon the lever reaching its initial position, the locking bolt engages behind the second locking tooth o1 tliedisc 24.

It is now only necessary to cut off the'wire end portions freely'projecting onboth sides of the twisted join't. For this purpose the following device is provided.

On both sides of the-pinion 34 and at a suitable distance therefrom, the base plate 1 is provided with upwardly projecting bearing lugs 37, 37. To eachlug'is fixed a metal plate 38 (Fig. 3) having a slot 39 having a forwardly widening front portion. The lug 3'7- and its corresponding metal plate 38 are connected by a screw 40 which serves for cutting off one of the two wire ends inserted into the guide slot 39. "The rear arm of the lever' 41 is controlled by a spring 42, the rear end of the spring being fixed to a projection 43 stamped out of the base plate 1. Both springs 42 of the two cutting devices have the tendency to hold their correspondinglevers 41 sothat their front 15 arms are located above the slots 39 of the corresponding metal plate 38.

A preferred construction of the means for operating the cutting members is as follows:

The hub 10 of the nut operating lever 9 and the stop collar 1-2 of the shaft 3, areprovided with arms 44, 45 which, as shown in Fig. 3 engage members 46 of the rear arms of the lever 41. On turning the shaft 3 together with the hub 10 and the collar 12 anti-clockwise in Fig. 3, the arms 44, 45 acting upon the members 46, 46, raise the rear arms of the lever 41 against the action of the springs 42, whereby the front arms of the levers are depressed.

Of the two wire ends lying side by side in the slot 36 of the pinion 34, the forward wire end must always be cut ofl at one side of the pinion and the rear wire end at the other side. Fig. 3 shows the device serving for cutting the front wire end. It will be seen that the forward arm of the lever 41 serving as the cutter, is provided with a rounded nose portion 47, which serves for pushing the two wire ends lying side by side finnly into the guide slot 39 before the actual cutting operation of the lever 41 takes place. After the two wires lying side by side have been placed into the required'position by the rounded nose 4'7, a.

sharpened edge 48 of the lever which serves as the actual cutting knife comes into contact with the front wire and cuts same through, the rear wir-e remaining unaffected and moving into a recess 49 provided for this purpose in the lever 41. It will thus be seen that there is no danger of the rear wire being also cut through by the knife 48 owing to incorrect positioning of the wires. Even injury to the rear wire, which could easily occur with the known cutting devices, is avoided by the particular construction of the cutter.

The second cutting device serves for cutting ofi the end of the rear wire. In the second cutting device there is no need to provide the push nose 47, as in this cutting device 'the position of the cutting knife edge 48 and the recess 49 is reversed and there is not much danger of the front wire being cut.

As previously stated, the nut operating lever 9 is, after completion of the straining operation, in the position shown in Fig. 2. After the two wire ends have been twisted by the operation of .the ratchet lever 26, the ratchet lever 26 ismoved back into its initial position. The nut operating lever 9 is now moved back'into the initial vertical position shown in Fig. 1. If the lever 9 is now moved from the vertical position shown in Fig. 1

(see also Fig. 3) anticlockwise the arms 44, 4') of the hub 10 and the collar 12, will act upon the members 46 of the cutter levers 41. The nut operating lever 9 need only be turned through a small angle forwards (anticlockwise in Fig. 3), to produce the necessary depression of the front arms of the lever 41, whereby the wires previously inserted into the slotted plates 38, 39 are cut off, the right hand cutting device in Fig. 1 serving for cutting the front wire and the other cutting device serving for cutting the rear wire end.

It will be understood that the invention is not restricted to the construction shown in the drawing, various modifications being possible within the scope of the invention. For instance, the hub of the nut operating lever and the collar of the nut may be provided with members directly acting upon the front arms of the cutter levers. Moreover,.the threaded spindles of the straining device might be arranged stationary, and the straining members might be provided with nut members co-operating with the stationary screw spindles. It will also be understood that the tool may be used not only for round wire, but also for fiat wire or band iron.

I claim:

1. In a wire clamp and twister, a base, spaced bearings mounted on said base, a long nut mounted revolubly in said bearings and having the threadin one end of opposite hand to the thread in the other end, a pair of clamp supports slidably mounted on said base opposite the ends of said nut, screws projecting into said nut from respective clamp supports and threaded to conform to the threads of said nut, a pair of wire clamps each carried by a respective support and each acting to grip the end portion of a wire led past the other support whereby the wire ends are gripped in overlapping relation, and means to oscillate said nut.

2. In a wire clamp and twister, a base, spaced bearings mounted on said base, a long nut mounted revolubly in said bearings and having the,

thread in one end of opposite hand to the thread on the other end, a pair of clamp supports slidably mounted on said base opposite the ends of said nut, screws projecting into said nut from respective clamp supports and threaded to conform to the threads of said nut, a pair of wire clamps each carried by a respective support and each acting to grip the end portion of a wire led past the other support whereby the wire ends are gripped 1n lapping relation, a lever fixed to said nut to oscillate the same, and means including a twisting lever oscillatably supported on the nut intermediate its ends for effecting twisting together of the lapped portions of the wire.

3. In a wire clamp and twister, a base, spaced bearings mounted on said base, a long nut mounted revolubly in said bearings and' having the thread in one end of opposite hand to the thread in the other end, a pair of clamp supports slidably'mounted on said base opposite the ends of said nut, screws projecting into said nut from respective clamp supports and threaded to conform to the threads of said nut, a pair of wire clamps each carried by a respective support ,and each acting to grip the end portion of wire led past the other support whereby the wire ends are gripped in lapping relation, a lever fixed to said nut to oscillate the same, means including a twisting lever oscillatably supported on the nut intermediate its ends for. effecting twisting together of the lappe'd portions of the wire, and cutters positioned to cut the wire ends between the twisted portion and the clamps and actuated by rotation of the nut in a direction from normal opposite its wire tightening movement.

4. In a wire clamp and twister, a base, spaced bearings mounted on said base, a long nut mounted revolubly in said bearings and having the thread in one end of opposite hand to the thread inthe other end, a pair of clamp supports slidably mounted on said base opposite the ends of said nut, screws projecting into said nut from respective clamp supports and threaded to conform to the threads of said nut, a pair of wire clampseach carried by a respective support and each acting to grip the end portion of a wi'..- led past the other support. whereby the wire ends are gripped in lapping relation, a leverfixed to said nut to oscillate the same, a slotted pinion rotatably mounted on said base and positioned to receive the middle of the lapped portions of the wire in its slot, a gear revoluble on said nut and meshing with said pinion, and means to rotate said gear.

5. In a wire clamp and twister, a base, spaced bearings mounted on said base, a long nut mounted revolubly in said bearings and having the thread in one end of opposite hand to the thread of the other. end, a pair of clamp supports slidably mounted on said base opposite the ends of said nut, screws projecting into said nut from respective clamp supports and. threaded to conform to the threads of said nut, a pair of wire clamps each carried by a respective support and each acting togrip the end portion of a wire led pastthe other support whereby the wire ends are gripped in lapping relation, a lever fixed to said nut to oscillate the same, a slotted pinion rotatably mounted on said base and positioned to receive the middle of the lapped portions of the wire in its slot, a gear revoluble on-said nut and rneshing with said pinion, a ratchet fixed to said gear, a twistinglever oscillatablymounted on the nut beside the gear, a pawl carried by the lever to engage said ratchet, and means to limit the oscillatory movement of the lever.

6. In a wire clamp and twister, a base, spaced bearings mounted on said base, a long nut mounted revolubly in said bearings and having the thread in one end of opposite hand to the threadare gripped in lapping relation, a lever fixed to said nut to oscillate the same, 'means including a twisting lever oscillatably supported on said nut intermediate its ends for effecting twisting together of the lapped portions of the wire, a pair of normally open cutting nippers each supported on .the base between the twisting means and a clamp, springs holding said nippers normally open, a pair of sleeves fixed on said nut, one'of said--sleeves constituting a hub ,for the first men-- tioned lever, and arms projecting from said sleeves and engaging said nippers to operate the nippers when said first lever is moved in 'wire tension relaxing direction from its normal position.

7. In a wire clamp and twister, a base, spaced bearings mounted on said base, a long nut mounted revolubly in said bearings and having the thread in one end of opposite'hand to -the thread in the other end, a pair of clamp supports slidably mounted on said base opposite the ends of said nut, screws projecting into said nut from respective clamp supports and threaded to conform to the threads. of said nut, a pair of wire clamps each carried by a respective support and each acting to grip the end portion of a wire led past the other support whereby-the wire ends are ripped in lapping relation, a lever fixed to said nut to oscillate the same, a slotted pinion rotatably mounted on said base and positioned to receive the middle of the lapped portions of the wire in its slot, a gear revoluble on said nut and meshing with said pinion, means to rotate said gear, a pair of normally open cutting nippers each supported on the base between the twisting means and a clamp, springs holding said nippers normally open, a pair of sleeves fixed on said nut, one of said sleeves constituting a hub for the first mentioned lever, and .arms projecting from said sleeves and engaging said nippers to operate respective clamp supports and threaded to conform to the threads of said nut, a pair of wire clamps each carried by a respective support and each acting to grip the end portion of a wire led past the other support whereby the wire ends are gripped in lapping relation, a lever fixed to said nut to oscillate the same, a slotted pinion rotatably mounted on said base and positioned to receive the middle of the lapped portions of the wire in its slot, a gear revoluble on said nut and meshing with said pinion, a ratchet fixed to said gear, a twisting lever oscillatably mounted on the nut beside the gear, a pawl carried by the lever to engage saidratchet, means to limit the oscillatory movement of the lever, a pair of normally open cutting nippers each supported on the base between the twisting means and a clamp,

springs holding said nippers normally open, a pair of sleeves fixed on said nut, one of said sleeves constituting a hub for the first mentioned lever, and arms projecting from said sleeves and engaging said nippers to operate the' nippers when said first lever is moved in wire tension relaxing direction from its normal position.

BRI'lNINGI-IAUS. 

